BBQ "Chicken" Sandwich

Why "chicken"? When you put quotes around the name of a food, it usually has the connotation that it's not what it seems, like school cafeteria food (they claim it's beef when it's actually slime O_O). 

By "chicken", I mean meatless chicken made of soy protein. Bring on the gasps from the meat-lovers in the world! You may be thinking, "WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD YOU EAT FAKE CHICKEN?!?!?"

Well, to answer your question, I am a vegetarian. A proud one for 3 years, in fact! I made the decision to become a vegetarian as a challenge to see if I could do it, and it has sort of stuck with me ever since. But more on that story another time! 

So I eat meatless chicken, or chik'n as some vegetarians call it. Chik'n surprisingly tastes like chicken (it gets some of its chicken flavoring from non-meat ingredients) and has 64% less fat than real chicken. I think it's a great substitute for chicken, taste-wise. 

A few years ago, I discovered a brand called MorningStar Farms. They produce meatless products such as burger patties, sausages, bacon, meatballs, and, of course, chicken. I fell in love with the taste of their products because they tasted like meat, but had absolutely no meat in them!

Last week, I had a craving for some of their products, so I went to the grocery store next to campus and bought their Original Chik Patties, meatless chicken patties with a crispy breadcrumb breading. YUM!! 

For dinner on Monday night, I whipped up a BBQ "Chicken" sandwich with MorningStar's chik patties and a few other ingredients that I got from my dining commons. I'm the weird one in my hall that treats our dining commons like my own one stop grocery stop rather than a place to go eat at three times a day. I often get vegetables from their salad bar, bread from their bread cupboards, and anything else I need to bring back to my hall to make my own food ;D




Here is the recipe for a quick BBQ "Chicken" sandwich:

Ingredients
1 MorningStar Farms Original Chik Patty, frozen
2 tsp mayonnaise 
1/2 tsp sriracha
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1 slice provolone cheese
2 slices of wheat bread, lightly toasted
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
1 leaf of lettuce 

Instructions
1. Place the chik patty in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
2. While the patty is in the oven, mix together the mayonnaise, sriracha, and lemon juice. Put it in the fridge to chill until you are ready to use it on the sandwich.
3. After the 10 minutes are up, turn off the oven. Place the slice of provolone cheese onto the patty.Once the cheese has melted, take the chik patty out.
4. To assemble the sandwich, take the spicy mayonnaise mix out of the fridge and spread it onto one slice of bread. Place the lettuce onto the bread, followed by the patty. Spread the bbq sauce onto of the patty. Top it all off with the other slice of bread. Bon appetit!!

Yummy in my vegetarian tummy!! I can still taste the tangy bbq sauce, the creamy mayo with a kick, the crisp lettuce, and the crispy chik'n. Mmmmmmmm.........

If you have never tried meatless chicken before, this sandwich will be the best introduction to chik'n you will ever have!! 



I would love to hear your feedback on this recipe. Comment below telling me your thoughts about meatless food!

Lisa xx

My Beach Essentials

My Beach Essentials by lotsoflisa featuring stacking bangles

Miu miu
net-a-porter.com

Havaianas gold shoes
$33 - superette.co.nz

Cynthia Rowley stacking bangle
cynthiarowley.com

Ray ban
bloomingdales.com

Wet Seal wide brim hat
wetseal.com

Laura Mercier sheer makeup
saksfifthavenue.com

Sheer makeup
neutrogena.com

Hawaiian tropic
$20 - nelly.com

Maslin Turquoise Zebra Beach Towel
$215 - avenue32.com

Sea Shells Collection Set of 4
willowtreehome.com

College Life: My Dorm Room Desk

Around this time, high school seniors know where they are going to attend college, university, uni, or whatever you want to call it. Those seniors are being productive by figuring out what classes they are going to take throughout the next four years and how they are going to make a jump start on their careers....

But let's be honest.....

If they're like me, they are looking at dorm room decoration and organization ideas. I remember spending my nights looking at pictures of other people's dorm rooms, going through Bed, Bath & Beyond's website, making a list of what I wanted to bring, and planning out what I wanted to have on my walls and where to place them. 

Because of this, I thought it would be helpful to show those of you who are or will be entering college what my desk in my dorm room looks like. I'll give you some tips on how to organize and personalize your desk to make it a comfortable little area for you to get all of your work done at. 




In the right-hand corner of my desk, I have a desk organizer that I got as part of a set from Office Depot. I got it for my dad as a Christmas present, but he didn't use it, so I took it with me to college. Thanks Dad for not using the present I got for you. In this desk organizer, I have all of my colored pens, highlighters, pencils, pens, and LOTS of Post-It notes. I love Post-It notes. I use them EVERYWHERE! I also have my Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets, Nivea Lip Butter in Vanilla & Macadamia Nut, and Nivea A Kiss of Milk & Honey in a compartment of the organizer for easy access to some of my most used products.

My desk has a large cork board attached to it, and I use it to pin up reminders, random papers, etc. One section of my cork board is dedicated to memories I've made while in college. This area includes notes friends have written to me, a lanyard from Justin Bieber's concert, and a calming picture of an ocean horizon sunset. Whenever I'm feeling stressed out from school work, I like looking at this section because it always makes me instantly feel good from thinking about many happy college memories :) 

On the top section of my desk, I have a few of my books and a whole bunch of personal items. I have a box of Puff Tissues which I LOVE because of how pretty box is. I have it on my desk for easy access to tissues and also because it adds a colorful decorative element. Is that weird to do? On here, I have my Vitafusion Gummy Vitamins since gummy vitamins are the best vitamins to take because they taste like candy! I put my makeup brushes in a pen holder that I got at a 99 cents store for, you guessed it, 99 cents. To hold my hair brushes and combs, I use purple plastic plant pot that I bought at Ikea. On the far left side, you will see that I have a 3 layer organizer from Target. It is such a convenient thing to have because it has, within one layer, a multi-compartment unit that I use to put all of my hair ties, bobby pins, cotton pads, etc. I also put my medicine, mini first aid kit and mini sewing kit in here. 

Now let's take a look at what I have in the drawers of my desk!

Starting with the drawer that's located right where I sit, I have a whole bunch of office supplies in here to the point where I probably don't have to go to Office Depot for a good two years. To organize all of the things I have, I use a desk organizing tray that I bought at Target. I highly suggest you purchase a desk organizing tray like the one I have because they are extremely helpful with keeping your drawer nice and organized. 

Note: Though I have a graphic calculator, I can't really use it in class for exams because they're not allowed. Usually, professors do not allow you to use programmable calculators on exams to prevent you from cheating. Instead, bring a simple scientific calculator with you to college.

I got the idea of using the pages from my old magazines to line the bottom of my drawers somewhere on the Internet. Not only does it save money and recycles magazines I don't read anymore, but adds pops of colors, and I always find excuses to add pops of color anywhere! All I did was ripped out pages from an old Seventeen magazine, placed them on the bottom of the drawer, and tape them together. Easy!! 

The first drawer on the side of my desk has the makeup that I use the most at the moment and things for me to read/watch during my leisure time. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

The three containers came with the desk set I was talking about earlier. I separate my eye, face, and lip products among them. I also have a couple of palettes that I'm currently using in this drawer. (I will post another blog about what I'm currently using in the future.) 

Peeping out from underneath my Naked2 palette and Nars Laguna Bronzer, I have my Les Miserables book that I bought at the end of last year. I started reading it at the beginning of this year, but I became too busy and it's been in my drawer ever since. I'm determined to finish it before 2014 though! In this drawer, I also have a few DVDs, and can you guess what CD I have from looking at the picture?! Hint: look at one of the other pictures in this blog ;) 

As you can probably see, I own a box of earplugs. In college, especially when you are living in a dorm where the walls are thin, you will need earplugs!! There will be nights when all you want to do is sleep, but your dorm mates may be talking loudly or slamming their doors shut. A normal person might go and ask them to keep it down.....

.... However, because I can sometimes be a lazy college student, I prefer to save my energy, pop in some earplugs, and sleep soundly throughout the night ;D 

Moving onto the middle drawer, I keep blank sheets of both lined and printer paper, extra printer ink, flashcards, and two unopened packets of highlighters in here. Why do I have two packets of highlighters? Because I love highlighters and they were having a two for one sale. That's why. I'm a sucker for two for one deals! Even if I don't currently need it, I will often convince myself that I will need it in the future. 

Lastly, this drawer contains binders, folders, a clipboard, extra lined paper, sheet protectors, notebooks, and any other officer supplies that I could possibly need! I really made sure I was prepared for ANYTHING supplies-wise! There's nothing wrong with being prepared! Well, that's what I tell myself...

I hope you found this blog very helpful! I wish those of you who are planning for college the best of luck!!!


Lisa xx

Game Night Beauty Guide

This past weekend, I went on a short road trip to watch my university’s men’s volleyball team kick ass at the national championships. It was one of the best sporting events that I’ve ever witnessed with my own eyes. Half of the pavilion was filled with enthusiastic students wearing gold. Some even took it to the next level and painted their entire body in our school’s colors. It was absolute MADENESS!! People were on their feet the entire time, cheering and screaming. On the trip back, my ears were still ringing from how loud it was at the game!!

Single ladies out there, I understand wanting to look cute at a sporting event where you will be watching hot guys compete while being surrounded by more hot guys. I get it!! Don’t you dare paint your face with makeup up because of that, though! You will probably also get really into the game, shout for your team, and even sweat a little bit if you are going to be surrounded by other intense fans.

Tons of makeup + sports game = slipping and sliding foundation, smudged eyeliner, and melting mascara. It’s a simple math equation.

If you want to wear makeup to a sporting event, the less, the merrier.

Here is a simple beauty guide of the kind of makeup you should wear on game night. This is what I wore to the championship game!

The Makeup:

If you are going to wear foundation, go with a light-coverage one that blends into your skin very well like the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. As you may know, this foundation is currently my favorite! A drop of this foundation is all you will need. Conceal any dark under-eye circle with Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer. For a natural flushed look, blend in a cream blush like NYX Cream Blush in Boho Chic into the apples of your cheeks. At this point, you can powder your face, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to have powdery-looking skin.

Onto the eyes! To prevent your eye shadow from budging, apply some of Urban Decay’s Primer Potion on the lids of your eyes. I have the professional size of this, and it has lasted me for over a year! Using Stila’s Sensational in Sydney palette, blend the “Bondi Beach” color onto your lids, and push the “Harbour Bridge” color into your upper lash line. This will define your eyes without making it look like you have heavy liner on. A very natural look! Finish off your eyes by sweeping Maybelline’s The Falsies Black Drama Mascara.

Slightly fill in your eyebrows with NYX Eyebrow Cake Powder.

Use the lip color in the Stila palette on your lips. I am in LOVE with this color! Spray your face with Urban Decay’s All Nighter Setting Spray to keep your makeup in place, and you’re done!!

The Hair:

When I’m going to watch a game, I like getting into the sporty mood by tying my hair up into a high ponytail. If you want, you can add some volume by teasing your hair a bit before putting it up into a ponytail. You can also put your own style into it by adding a braid! 

Thanks for reading. Remember that there will be a new blog every Friday!

Until next time,

Lisa xx

Vietnamese Iced Coffee (The College Edition)

Hi, my name is Lisa, and I am a coffee-holic.

I need it to function properly and think clearly.

If I don’t drink coffee during one of my many study sessions at the library, I could easily say that 2 + 2 = fish.

Ok, it’s not that extreme.

I’m pretty sure it’s known that many college students live on coffee. Coffee is such a staple that working at the Starbucks on campus is CRAZY since there is always a long line full of students who need a boost to start their day or to help them through an “all-nighter”.

After evaluating my life (and my wallet), I’ve come to the realization that instead of always going to Starbucks, I should buy a couple of products and make the perfect cup of joe by myself the way I want it! Because the weather is starting to warm up and because I’ve been eating a lot of food from my culture lately, why not make Vietnamese iced coffee, the college edition?

I start off by popping a tall cup of water into the microwave and heating it until it’s nice and hot (about two minutes). I use this method because I’m too lazy to use a proper water kettle.

Afterwards, stir in a couple of teaspoons of instant coffee. Coffee advocates are probably screaming at me right now for using instant coffee instead of brewing coffee grounds in a traditional Vietnamese metal coffee filter set. I did say this was the college edition; therefore, cheaper and quicker methods!!

I then place that sucker in my mini-fridge conveniently placed in my dorm room overnight for it to cool down and chill.

The next morning, when I’m in a coffee mood, I will take coffee out and pour the amount that I want into a tall mug.

Splash of skim milk. You will see why I opt for skim milk in the next step.

Here comes my favorite part: adding the sweetened condensed milk.

I like adding a couple of tablespoons. Or more if I’m feeling a bit naughty.

Mmmmmmm…… sweetened condensed milk. It’s like liquid happiness. Creamy and sweet liquid happiness. Mama needs a little extra happiness today.

Now do you see why I chose skim milk? J It’s like ordering a large meal with diet soda instead of regular soda. Doesn’t make much a difference, but it somehow makes sense in your mind and that’s all that matters.

Give it a quick stir, add some ice cubes, and ENJOY!

All I need now is a bowl of Multi-Grain Cheerios. That’s what I call a breakfast of champions!

Comment below telling me what your breakfast of champions is and if you are a coffee-addict like me!

Lisa xx